Diablo III is Coming to the Wii

Diablo III on Wii (April Fools)
Hack N' Slash just became literal. Blizzard just announced that Diablo III will be available for the Nintendo Wii. While it was announced awhile ago that Blizzard was planning on a console release, it was not until recent that it found its way to a specific console system. Blizzard gave a list of reasons why this decision was made and what we can expect.

I am proud to announce that we will be bringing Diablo III to the Nintendo Wii system. We have partnered with Satoru Iwata and Nintendo to bring you a fun and innovative way to play our newest game. We hope to bring the genre to a new peak unlike anyone has seen before. Being at the forefront of a gameplay experience that is sure to bring you endless amounts of fun.

The main reason we decided to go with Nintendo was their devotion and enthusiasm to always put gameplay first. Being the top of our core company values, we wanted to make sure this would carry over to the console community. While some of the hardware is not as strong as other consoles, we were willing to overlook that fact in order to create a game that was more fun to play.

We also found the controls and mechanics of the game was quite easy to transfer over from the PC version to the Wii. Creating a fun and exciting experience as you hack n' slash your way through the hordes of monsters you are sure to fight. With a wide range of motion control that will allow the player to become their character through their actions.

Finally, we have always aimed to bring you a great on-line experience with no additional cost to the player. We were able to bring our Battle.net 2.0 to Nintendo's on-line community. Allowing our players to have the same great on-line experience as all of our PC players.

With many more exciting ventures we have planned for the future, we hope you find this news just as exciting as we do.

Wii Info
Beyond Blizzard's announcement, more news has been shared about the details of how the port will work. First, it was mentioned that one of reasons to cut the skill number from seven to six was to help create a more fluid feel to the controls for the Wii. With a more limited controller, seven skills just made it too confusing.

It was also shared that players on the PC version will be able to join up with players on the Wii. Thanks to the ability to integrate Battle.net with Wii's on-line service, there will be no distinguishable difference as far as that part goes. Playing co-op and battling in the arena, both sets of payers will be fully integrated.

Another special addition just to Wii players will be a few extra achievements. As a part of the deal, Nintendo has always tried to maintain an image that playing games can still be healthy for you. Wii players will be able to unlock special achievements based on the amount of movement and calories burned which will be tracked on the character's information page.

Finally, Nintendo will also be releasing a limited edition Wii inspired by Diablo III. On sale for pre-sale next month, the limited edition console will come with a sleek black appearance with a few Diablo touches. The console will also come with the Diablo III game as well as the perks that have been mentioned with the PC collector's edition.

Player Experience
Along with this announcement, Blizzard invited a few members of the press to try our, first-hand, just how the Wii version works. DiabloFans was lucky enough to try out the new Hack N' Slash game.

DiabloFans Quote:

I will admit I had my reservations about my favorite franchise being ported to the console known for having games that babies and grandparents can play. There was no way my thirst for carnage and demon slaying could be met on this kiddie console. However, I will also be the first to admit that it did.

I walked into a small room with two couches and five big screen t.v.'s with Wii consoles connected to all of them. Myself and a few other people from other various gaming sites waited until Jay Wilson and other people on the development team joined us. The started up the game and handed us our wii-motes. With our hands gripping our controllers, they started the first quest. (The build was identical to the beta not allowing us to try out any new gameplay). The game starts out with a tutorial on the controls. A mixture of button pressing and controller motion, the controls were quick and easy to pick up. A few minutes into playing and I was swinging my way through the hordes of Hell.

We had plenty of time to try out each class which each had their own unique controls. (It is possible to turn of the Wii motion controls and just button click for those so inclined).

Barbarian

Whirlwind - Spin in a circle with your controllers held out

Threatening Shout - Pull down with both arms ending out on your side

Frenzy - Continuously swing both controllers up and down

Demon Hunter

Hungering Arrow - Pull back nunchuck as if drawing a bow

Grenades - Move nunchuck as if tossing the grenades

Traps - Move the controllers down to the ground

Monk

Fists of Thunder - Use Wii-mote for first attack, nunchuck for second and thrust both to finish the combo

Way of the Hundred Fists - Repeatedly punch with both hands

Inner Sanctuary - Rotate at the waist with both hands held out to your side

Witch Doctor

Summon Zombie Dog - Pull both controllers upwards from the ground up to above your head

Sacrifice - Bring both hands together in front of you

Soul Harvest - Twist with both controllers

Wizard

Disintegrate - Hold both controllers out in front of you

Frost Armor - Pull from head to your waist with controllers on your side

Electrocute - Make 'Z' shapes with the Wii-mote

Every time a new skill is earned, players are given a quick demonstration of the controls. There is also an added tool tip just in case you forget.

I will admit after working up a good sweat from playing, I was quite impressed with the game. The continuous killing of demons was only made more fun as I literally was hacking my way through them. Personally, I loved the melee classes the best with these controls, slamming the controllers around me. Be careful, however, I may have accidentally given a member of the Blizzard team a black eye while performing a Cleave (sorry Bash). Say what you will about this port but until you get your hands on it, you won't understand the fun the Wii brings to the game.

man i was excited and intrigued to see this, up until the point where it said "wii players can play alongside pc players" at which point i thought: there is no chance in hell that a wii player can do all those hand movements as fast as someone on pc, there is something seriously wrong about putting ur hands up and down 100 times a minute!

Does that necessarilly mean that the WII is not? Not sure - but they have mentioned it coming to console - and this looks like a lot of fun. For my 2c I'm actually thinking it's real. I don't think Nintendo would see the funny side if they made fun of the WII and then released it to a competitor.